Thursday, 6 November 2008

THE KING EDWARD PUB & RESTAURANT ~ Ilderton On

The London Gang (Bramanda, Ricky) were out on a crisp November day after celebrating scaring children the night before and consuming lots of candy. The day was a slow start, and not much was accomplished while there was still daylight, but by dinner, we were ready for a good meal. Ricky had been exposed to an advertisement for an interesting little pub in Ilderton Ontario (just North/West of London) and we decided we should definitely check it out. Ilderton was easy to navigate, and in no time we were parked outside this quaint little establishment.

Walking inside, one felt like you were walking back in time to an old fashion general store or saloon. I really expected to hear the sounds of spurs and a cowboy walking in through the front door.

We were a bit early for the supper crowd, so we had our pick of seats, but it didn't take long to fill up. One of the owners was walking around talking to everyone, and she mentioned that the next time if we came on a Friday or a Saturday again we should make reservations as it fills up quick, and she would hate for us to drive so far and have to wait.

I want to point out the great service in this place. Not only was our server Sarah friendly and attentive (if not a little overwhelmed with my wing questions) but the owners (I'm pretty sure she was the owner, because she teased me about 'stealing her recipes' when I was taking photos ) were walking around, checking on customers and being generally friendly. There are three elements to a great restaurant: food, comfort and service. So far, TKE was hitting all the right notes.

As for the food, Brad started everyone off with their 'curry bite' appetizer. I can't remember it's real name, but basically it was small chicken curry chunks with lettuce in a tortilla wrap, with ranch dipping sauce. It was certainly an interesting nibble.

Rick went with a pub classic 'bangers and mash'. When prompted how it was, I was given the indication that it was good. Everything looked a little blah to me (it looked like frozen peas and corn) but I didn't try and I didn't follow up with Rick like I should have.

Amanda went with the cheese cannelloni. And she would not stop talking about how good it was. The best she had ever had. One of the best meals she ever had. Amazing. And on and on and on. So it was good. Light but tomatoey sauce, cheese was goey and good and the pasta was cooked well. So she was VERY happy with her meal. Trust me.

Brad went for the lamb, which was one of the specials of the evening. It came with sauteed veggies and a 3 potato mash (3 different potatoes mixed in). He was very content with his meal and that's all I have to say about that.

Why, because I went for the wings. And I had lots to choose from. I scanned the menu and found wings pretty quick. There was lots to choose from, and I made my choices. Then I re-examined a flat screen tv that had an advert for their wings that Rick had pointed out earlier. I hadn't really read it and saw that there was a seperate wing menu. Sarah brought it over, and it was simply more detailed than the main one, with over 20 wing flavours. But we were informed that a new wing menu with over 40 flavours was coming out in a week or two (dang, just missed it).But I had lots to choose from already and I went with the two most interesting offers on the menu.

2008 THE SCORE 3.0: KING EDWARD PUB ~ Ilderton On

STYLE:

Deep fried, some dusted

PRICE:

$8.50 for 1lb (approx 8 wings)

$14.50 for 2lb

$6.95 for 6 wings (Chef’s Revenge)

SAUCES:

Over 40 – but a sample:

Wuss/mild/medium/hot

BBQ

Cajun Salt

Honey Garlic

Urban (bbq & Cajun)

Curry

Thai

Suicide

Voodoo

Ice (horseradish)

Chef’s Revenge

1/1

HEAT:

Chef’s Revenge had a great kick

SIZE:

Medium to large

1.5/3

WETNAP FACTOR:

wet – a nice amount of sauce on both

2.5/3

CRISPINESS:

Crispy/crunchy – just right

3/3

FLAVOUR:

Good-great: both were interesting flavours

2.5/3

SIDES:

Add veggies and dip for $1.25

0/3

CLEAN UP:

Napkins, wetnaps, wing plate

3/3

WING NIGHT:

Tuesdays (approx $.35 ) the wing night was changing as were the sauces, so this might change as well.

The chicken wings themselves were a good size, not super big, but deep fried well. The skin was perfectly crispy, with a hot meaty interior.

CHEF's REVENGE:

As I scanned the initial menu, the hottest sauce listed was suicide. Then, lower on the menu was Chef's Revenge listed seperately from the rest of the wings. They only come out in 6 wings, in theory, because they are so hot. Brad took a little finger dab of the sauce: he was reaching for his beer in seconds. Amanda was feeling brave and took not even a full drop on her finger to taste - but she was out of pop, so she waited with her finger in the air until another arrived. She took her taste . . . and her eyes lit up with immense pain.

Rick and I, both able to handle heat took our tastes and came to relatively the same conclusions. The flavour was definitely 3rd Degree (which is what I assume their suicide must be) but there was certainly more heat, with a slight chemical after taste. This suggests that they add a pure capsicum/heat that has no taste of its own, but a lot of burn. Now this isn't the hottest sauce I've had, but there was a good burn there. It made you aware of your mouth, and I liked the taste.

URBAN:

There were a couple of flavours on the main menu I wasn't sure what they were. One was 'ICE', which could be combined with a number of sauces. I asked Sarah about Ice, and she informed us it was horseradish. An interesting flavour and heat to add in, but I personally hate horseradish, so I passed. Another sauce that caught my attention was Urban. This turned out to be a popular mix of BBQ and Cajun. Well I was thinking of going with BBQ, and I usually like dry Cajun salt, so this was a must mix for me.

The top wings were more dry and you could clearly see the Cajun seasoning on the crispy skin. But underneath was a hidden bbq sauce deposit. My first sauce taste I thought I was having a wing dunked in ketchup. I was disappointed. But I went in for another wing and waited to evaluate the flavours more clearly. It wasn't ketchup, but it was sweet - not smokey or bold - but sugary, in a good way. The more I had it, the more I enjoyed it.

Another big bonus was the suckers. No not Bramanda and Ricky, but the confection on a stick handed out with the bill. Lots of places give mints, or little candies, and even suckers, but TKE handed out quality lollipops. Rick and I went for the cherry red, and man it was allllright. A thick lollipop with that sweet cough syrup cherry that tastes just so good.

FINAL SCORE: What a great pub. Everyone enjoyed their meal (especially Amanda). My wings were a good size, nice and crispy, and while the Chef's Revenge was not the hottest I've had, they certainly seem to care about their wings. I can't wait to come back to London and try out their new wing menu! Sometimes you have to go off the beaten path to get really good grub. Good find Rick. 14.5/20

5 comments:

1) Appetizer was called Raj Bites (Amanda encouraged the order since they are named after her favorite character from "The Big Bang Theory") and they were Turkey I think, not chicken.

2)Bangers and Mash - looks blah yes, but that's the appeal to me, a good simple common man's meal...No fancy shmancy here, just a simple hearty meal which tasted good and hit the spot with the Guinness Stout.

Not a good day for food for them. dry wings and got the runs after eating bangers and mashed. I wanted to eat and not have the staff tell me their life story,sorry the owners. Next time I am saving my gas money and I can get the same quality at no frills this I know.

Save your money and time , that's if your going to the king eddy oin ilderton. wing sauces can be purchased at any store and seasonings as well. these people think the world owes them something it seems. The time we spent there all we listens to was how great they are and gossip about other people. Your a pup its food and you don't really even cook you just reheat lol. As far as wings go eddy smith should be getting all the credit and their past chefs are the ones that built their if they have any good history with food. Just because you like to drink all day and night dosent meen you should open a pup . What a waste of time ,money and use of ones brain.